Graphene absorber for passive mode-locking Nd:YVO4 laser

High-quality graphene was grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The monolayer, bilyer and three layer graphene were used as saturable absorber for passive mode-locking Nd:YVO4 laser. The maximum average output power, pulse repetition rate of the monolayer graphene mode-locking Nd:YVO4 laser were 1610 mW, 142.8 MHz, respectively. The linear transmission of the monolayer graphene and the mode-locking operation were compared with the case of the bilayer and three layer graphene. Our results illustrate that graphene is promising saturable absorber for the solid-state laser.